[1] It is a tropical brown algae species native to the south pacific that belongs to the Padina genus.

Other habitats include rocks and shell fragments in the shallow sublittoral, seagrass meadows, mangrove roots and coral reefs on tidal flats.

This alga tends to thrive in Rock pools in intertidal to subtidal zones on rocky substrates, especially on reef flats up to 10m in depth.

[3] Since Padina sanctae-crucis is used in food, it is known to be rich in fatty acids, which are an excellent source of nutrients for mammals.

For example, an organic extract shows toxicity to the oral epidermoid carcinoma cell line KB with a minimal infective dose of 6.5 μg/ml.